Graphene under hydrostatic pressure

TL;DR

This study uses high-pressure Raman spectroscopy to investigate how monolayer, bilayer, and few-layer graphene behave under compression, revealing their adherence to substrates and intrinsic properties similar to graphite.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of hydrostatic pressure on graphene's structural and electronic properties across different layer thicknesses.

Findings

Monolayer graphene adheres to silicon under compression.

Graphene's properties under pressure resemble those of graphite.

Strain type affects electronic bandstructure differently.

Abstract

In-situ high pressure Raman spectroscopy is used to study monolayer, bilayer and few-layer graphene samples supported on silicon in a diamond anvil cell to 3.5 GPa. The results show that monolayer graphene adheres to the silicon substrate under compressive stress. A clear trend in this behaviour as a function of graphene sample thickness is observed. We also study unsupported graphene samples in a diamond anvil cell to 8 GPa, and show that the properties of graphene under compression are intrinsically similar to graphite. Our results demonstrate the differing effects of uniaxial and biaxial strain on the electronic bandstructure.